The present invention relates to a school bus approach notification system, and more particularly, to such a system utilizing radio frequency transmission for notification.
In both urban and rural areas, it is common practice for school children to ride to school on school buses operated by the city or county school system. Normally, the bus makes stops at selected places along its route, but does not necessarily stop at each residence wherein a child taking that bus lives, due to the increased amount of time which would be necessary to make such numerous stops. Rather, the bus may stop at one or two positions along a block, and it is necessary for the children to congregate at those positions and wait for the arrival of the bus. This is particularly true in urban areas where the sight of children congregating at a corner is a familiar one.
In rural areas, it is not uncommon for the driveways leading from the highway to the homes to be quite long so that, even though the bus may stop at each residence, it is still necessary for the children to walk a considerable distance from the house to the end of the driveway and meet the bus.
Although it is intended that the school buses follow a regular schedule in traveling along their routes so that the children will be able to time their arrival at the bus stop to minimize the waiting time, this is very often not the case. In the event of mechanical problems, the bus can be delayed for a considerable length of time, and it is virtually impossible to notify each of the residences of the delay. Moreover, inclement weather, such as fog and icy streets, can delay the arrival of the bus, and result in the children having to stand out in the weather for considerable periods of time. Even if weather or mechanical problems do not delay the arrival of the bus, the normal fluctuations in schedule makes the exact time of arrival somewhat uncertain, so that parents will tend to send their children to the bus stop earlier than is normally necessary so that there is no chance the bus will be missed. Thus, the children have a moderate wait at the bus stop when the bus is on schedule, and a lengthy wait when the bus is delayed by traffic, weather, mechanical difficulties, or the like. During this wait, the children are subject to health and safety hazards.